The Saints often strive to make sure there’s no drop off and that no one notices who’s in or out on a particular play.
But Saints running back Alvin Kamara says it’s “very noticeable” when offensive lineman Nick Easton is on the field.
“You can tell when he's in the huddle, you can tell,” Kamara said. “He's annoying guys on the defense…. He just brings that element to that line of resiliency and toughness.
“He goes and gets it, does what he is asked to do, plus some. So just having him there, he's a great asset for our offense."
Kamara said Easton, who’s played the fourth most snaps of any offensive lineman this season, brings a different energy to the field.
Easton, who’s filled in at both right and left guard, as the Saints have battled injuries with First-round pick Cesar Ruiz and starting guard Andrus Peat both missing time with ankle injuries, said players have told him about the energy he contributes added that the doesn’t really notice it.
“I don't really think about it,” he said. “It's just, that's just how I am when I'm out there. That's just how I play and when I'm out there, it's fun, it's passionate and just trying to enjoy the time."
The Saints have enjoyed Easton’s time on the field as well this season. The line help Kamara lead the NFL in yards from scrimmage and total touchdowns heading into Week 5 while also giving up the third fewest sacks of any team in the league.
“We did a great job with our depth,” Saints tackle Terron Armstead said. “We got guys that played a lot a lot of snaps that wasn't technically slotted to start at the beginning of the season. I like where we are and the guys we have got coming back, that's exciting."
Easton said it’s been a joy to play as much as he has this season and credited his teammates for helping him play well.
“You look around you have got in the room with me, you got all-pro (Ryan Ramczyk), first rounders (Ramczyk, Peat, Ruiz), Pro Bowl (Armstead, Peat), all-rookie (Erik McCoy),” Easton said. “It's awesome to be around such talented guys. And it really makes my job, when I go in there, a lot easier. So I have no complaints. It's a joy to play with these guys."
The Saints offensive line will face a tough challenge Monday night as they face the Los Angeles Chargers and their talented defensive front which spear heads a unit that is in the top half of the league in terms of yards per play.
"Man, they're talented across the board,” Easton said. “They have got guys who can push the pocket, (and) they have got guys who can rush really well. So there's really not a weakness in their front."
Armstead said the Chargers defensive ends including 2019 pro bowler Joey Bosa and have been the standouts on the unit.
"Those guys play extremely hard, every snap, every game,” Armstead said. “They've been causing a lot of disruption, a lot of havoc through their first four games. (They've) really been the standout part of their defense this early part of the season."
The Saints offensive line aims to limit that disruption when the matchup kicks off Monday at 7:15 p.m. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
